


Accomplice

by chasu



Series: Lines Crossed [1]
Category: Magic Kaito
Genre: (sort of), Gen, Polyamory, Queerplatonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-14
Updated: 2014-11-14
Packaged: 2018-02-25 08:44:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2615534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasu/pseuds/chasu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not that it was a competition. No, it was simply an observation - namely, that Aoko Nakamori had chosen the two biggest flirts in Ekoda High for her own, and would likely never have another moment of peace in her life because of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Accomplice

   Kaito had always enjoyed watching his mother apply her makeup.

   He couldn't explain it - of course, he thought she was beautiful all the time, but seeing the difference a few lines across her eyelids and a tint of rose pink to her lips could make was nothing short of fascinating.

   Kaito would sit on the counter, kohl pencils and discarded brushes scattered around his hips, and take in everything about the way her mouth opened just-so as she applied her mascara. That was the last step. He could already see the faint traces of powder across the bridge of her nose, brows somewhat thicker and more shapely than they had been at breakfast. The lavender in her lower lash line seemed to add a sparkle to her violet eyes. Like the others, he filed that detail away in the back of his mind.

   It wasn't a secret. After a childhood habit of showing up to school with stained-on extra-long-last lipstick and an apology note from his mother, he manned the face-painting station at every event that boasted one, and helped backstage at school productions when he could. Other than his rather more private talents of stealing jewels and impersonating police officers, makeup was his _forte_.

   So it was no surprise at all when Aoko came to him one Friday after school, both hands toying with the hem of her skirt as she stared at the floor and, in one breath, mumbled something that sounded vaguely like _could-you-please-help-me-get-ready-for-my-date-tonight-oh-mighty-and-beautiful-Kaito-sama_.

   Extremely vaguely. It was, Kaito supposed, _somewhat_ possible that the last part had been distorted by the noise of the classroom, but he wouldn't swear by it.

   "You don't have to impress him, you know," he mused, hours later, sweeping an angled brush beneath Aoko's left eye. It left a trail of vibrant amethyst in its wake, meeting the soft lines of dark-brown-black smudged across her eyelid. They, and their mirrors on the other side, were the only traces of cosmetics on her skin. _No need to smother, nothing to hide, just right..._ "He'd be over the moon if you showed up in a garbage bag, and you know it." With the last word, he tapped her nose with the back end of the brush. It wasn't enough to pull a smile, but the tension in her jaw faded just a little.

   Kaito had positioned her on a stool in one of the Kuroba mansion's bathrooms, and he knelt before her, products at his feet or hidden away up his sleeve for dramatic effect. Aoko twitched every other moment, clearly not used to the fibres dancing over her face. If she'd ever worn makeup before, Kaito didn't know about it.

   "It's not him," she said at last. She opened her eyes, and blinked a few times, testing the weight and sensation of pencil on the delicate skin of her eyelids. It was breathtaking, really. She had always had nice eyes, in Kaito's opinion, but now they were framed in a way that was nothing short of artistic and- well. Kaito was nothing if not an artist, though typically of the performance variety.

   "He's taking me to a fancy restaurant." Aoko flinched when Kaito popped the lid from another pencil, though this one was darker brown and had a considerably sharper point. " _Really_ fancy. The kind of place where a waiter takes your coat when you walk in the door." She shifted on her stool just as he raised the tip to her right eyebrow. She continued, ignoring his hiss of _saa!_  and possibly not understanding that she barely missed having an impromptu line drawn across her temple. "And he always looks so..."

   Tongue between his teeth, Kaito snorted. "Ridiculous?"

   Aoko didn't fully commit to the glare she threw his way. She was, no doubt, remembering the deerstalker-and-trenchcoat get-up that Saguru had been so fond of when they met. "Put-together," she corrected, lifting a hand self-consciously to smooth down her hair at the top. The spikes bounced back the moment she left them alone, and Kaito elected not to mention it. "So I have to look like a _lady_ , not like some... some high-schooler he picked up off the street."

   Aoko didn't have much to work with in the eyebrow department, which meant sculpting a new shape, only very slightly thicker than before. He sketched the straight-line strokes carefully, mulling over what she'd said.

   Of course, it was just Saguru's style to charm a girl like that. All Italian dinners and light jazz and long walks on the beach, and flowers, undoubtedly - even if he couldn't pull them from thin air, as Kaito himself preferred to do. Saguru had tradition on his side, but spontaneity - well, they all knew who had the run of _that_.

   Not that it was a competition. No, it was simply an _observation_  - namely, that Aoko Nakamori had chosen the two biggest flirts in Ekoda High for her own, and would likely never have another moment of peace in her life because of it.

   "Right," Kaito absently half-agreed. The brows had turned out perfect, and he held a hand mirror up to let her see - which had the added benefit of letting him watch as said brows moved incrementally towards her hairline while she took in the changes from only five minutes on a wash-stool in one of the Kuroba bathrooms. And yes, even in incredulity, they _still_  looked perfect.

   With Aoko distracted, he shook a small selection of lipsticks from his shirt-sleeve. By the time she glanced down, he had them fanned out perfectly across his fingers for her inspection, tilting them so that the harsh lighting glinted off the rose-gold casings in just the right way. A transparent section at the end of each tube showed the colour. "You choose," he said at her lack of a reaction.

   She shook her head. "I'm not-- I mean, I can't--" She turned her gaze on him, all nerves and dismay and _radiance_. "I don't know anything about... this," she said, words lacking their usual bite and punctuation of _Bakaito_. Then, with a worried glance down at the cosmetics, "Won't it come off when I eat?"

   Kaito met her grimace with an easy smirk. " _Honestly_ , Ahoko, you wound me." He wiggled his fingers, making the tubes jump and squirm until Aoko sighed and picked one seemingly at random. Not that it mattered, of course - none of them would clash with tonight's look. "Implying that your own personal makeup artist is an _amateur_ , the nerve..."

   The shade she had selected was barely a few shades darker than her natural lip colour, peachish-pink and matte. "Open," he said, before the other three tubes disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by new products. He could just about feel the comment waiting behind Aoko's parted lips, but it was silenced with an application of primer, pigment, a blot, some hacking and complaints about the taste of paper - ("You aren't supposed to _lick it_!") -more pigment, and then a tiny dab of gloss in the centre of her bottom lip.

   "There you go," Kaito announced, sitting back on his heels to admire his handiwork. "Mwah! Perfectly kissable."

   At last, Aoko stood to look in the full-width mirror that spanned the wall behind the sink. She still wore her school uniform to mitigate any potential powder-on-dress disasters, and her hair was pulled and pinned back to allow unrestricted access to her features. "I think," she began, then turned to the side, twisting so that her chin met her shoulder, and pouted at her reflection. "I'd date me." She turned to Kaito with a slow grin to match his own. "What if it rains?"

   "Kissable in the rain, too." At his wink, she blushed and turned away to examine herself from the other side, just in time to not notice Kaito slip a few of the products into his pocket.

  
...

  
   Kaito peered out from behind the hostess' face, keeping an eye on the rain-spattered main window as he emerged from the staff bathroom and into the restaurant proper. Right on time... two shadowed figures approached, huddled beneath an umbrella - _(of course)_ \- and taking their sweet time as they ambled along. A good sign, a good sign, but Kaito couldn't help wishing they would hurry up just a _teensy_ bit. The real hostess could only stay unconscious in a bathroom stall for so long before somebody found her and caused a scene, and that was a mood killer if ever there was one.

   They entered with little grace. Saguru saw Aoko inside, and then seemed more preoccupied with shaking out the umbrella over the pavement than being seated. Kaito elected to let him sort it out on his own, watching Saguru's two facets of manners war with each other as he attempted to keep the restaurant's floor dry without ignoring his date, gentleman that he was. Moments later, the umbrella was in a decent enough state, and Aoko took his arm again at the podium.

   Saguru looked to be at about his usual level of ease, though there was a bit of stiffness around his shoulders. Politely, Kaito noted, he made sure to have eyes only for the hostess as he gave the details of their reservation, allowing Aoko to look around all she liked. She took in the shelves of wine behind the bar, the candles that flickered on every table, until finally her gaze settled on Kaito himself. Her expression didn't change but for a small bow and a smile before he took two menus and guided them to their seat.

   "Might I take your coats?" Kaito asked as he placed the menus down, smiling in that please-tip-me way he'd long-since memorized from a million servers.

   "Ah- please-" Saguru gave his first. It wasn't the tweed trenchcoat, unfortunately, but it came with a thank-you, as did Aoko's, and for a moment Kaito wondered if the warmth building in his chest wasn't dissimilar to how a proud parent might feel. It was, after all, a little unorthodox to feel so relieved that Aoko's dress was modest enough to still be age-appropriate and within her range of style - and wasn't that just what Nakamori-keibu would think of the whole ordeal, as well?

   He shook his head. _Weird thought, weird thought, just..._

   "And, if the gentleman doesn't mind me saying so," Kaito said, in parting, and threw a conciliatory nod Saguru's way even though he likely _would_  mind, "You look resplendent tonight, miss." Another bow of his head, and then he turned away before either of them could really react, hard-pressed to bite back an, _and you too, sir_ , with a well-timed wink. But no, he was Kaito-as-hostess, not _Kid_ -as-hostess. Maybe next heist, if he could manage it. "Enjoy your evening."

   And with that, Kaito left, hanging the coats and then making a beeline for the staff bathroom once again to redress and wake his current doppelgänger, restore what order he could, and abscond out of the window before Aoko and Saguru had even ordered their drinks.


End file.
